Castle Bravo IPAFrog Island Brewing Company

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A - Fairly dark amber colour with an orange glow around the edges. Two fingers of foamy cream coloured head formed on the pour and slowly receded.

S - Very unexpected nose. Belgian yeast right up front with some clove, spice and sweet caramel. Seems more reminiscent of a Belgian IPA, but the label mentions nothing of a Belgian ale.

T - Follows the nose. Belgian yeast and a fairy assertive bitterness with some earthy and floral notes up front. The background adds some sweet bready notes and a big hit of spice. The finish is bitter and spicy.

M - Medium body and somewhat creamy. Light to moderate carbonation.

O - Not at all what I expected and a very misleading label. That said, the beer itself is pretty good.

Very quick to foam, almost gushed out of the glass. Good clarity of a dark chestnut color. Estery, faint fusel alcohol meets a mild caramel malt and some vague herbal hop in the nose. Big carbonation opens up with push of smoothness in the creamy malty body. Alcohol is very expressive with higher alcohols, thankfully a sizable maltiness pushed it back a bit with caramel and toasted bread. A bit yeasty in the middle. Hops? They are there, bitterness and all but lacking in flavor for the most part ... perhaps in the finish when some of the alcohol and malt fade.

Not sure where this beer was supposed to go, tastes like a big alcoholic red ale though they dub it as an IPA. Go figure ... even then it is a chore to drink as the alcohol pushes things off kilter.

A cloudy maple syrup in color with a two finger fluffy head that melts fairly face leaving a consistent lace all the way down the glass. It's aromas are a bit earthy with some sweet malt, rolled oats and a dint of lemon peel.
The first thing announced in the flavor is something woodsy. Almost an oak aged thing is what reminds be of with a touch of of malty almost brown sugar sweetness that flirts slightly with something akin to a Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA. Next this chewy but fluffy/soft but full textured brew takes on a little bit more caramel flavors that still don't really give a hint that it's hitting at an 11% abv. It finishes with a burst of citrus With the average amount of stickiness one would expect from a DIPA. Not more and not less. Just right down the middle.

Certainly darker than the average IPA. 2 fingers of off-white head on top of a very dark and hazy amber body. Lacing and head retention are rather nice. Some fusel alcohol. Taste is too malty and not enough of a hop presence. Buttery as well?

Kind of a failure in both planning and execution. I wouldn't suggest this to anybody.

Smell: a medium-high dose of hops is apparent but it is balanced with a formidable malt opponent. almost like a double pale recipe in my opinion. but what really dominates the nose is that yeasty, buttery aroma indicative of a young beer.

Taste: same as aroma. a buttery, yeasty character destracts from what i can tell would otherwise be a tasty beer with good hopping and malt backbone. finish is very grainy and "off" lol

Mouthfeel: full-medium, creamy body with moderate carbonation.

Notes: could tell right from the pour that something was seriously wrong. poured very viscous. the color and cloudiness was very surprising and the smell sealed the deal. this beer is very green. it was kinda like a fart - didnt WANT to keep smelling it (and drinking), but i was strangely attracted to it

Picked this up on a whim without reading reviews, may be disappointed. This one pours a cloudy amber brown with a thick lasting off white head. The nose is quite malty and sweet with very little hop notes. The flavor follows suit with little that resembles an ipa. There is an off putting sweetness here and a lack of hops that makes this hard to believe as an ipa. Also there is a hell of an alcohol bite to this one. Ill try more from this brewer but not this again.